MaelstromYear of release: 2014Original format: 8mm and HD videoRunning time: 1 minute 56 secondsScreening format: single channel QuickTime, Blu-ray or DVDCredits: A film by Kayla Parker and Stuart MooreThanks: Mike Brewis, Jennie Constable, Terry Flaxton, Sarah Sparke, Janette KerrProduction: Sundog MediaCommissioned by Centre for Moving Image Research, University of the West of England, and Royal West of England Academy, BristolSupported by a CMIR-RWA Moving Image Art Bursary8mm footage courtesy of South West Film and Television ArchiveDistribution and sales: Sundog Media sundogmedia@gmail.com

SynopsisCinematic memories of long-forgotten arrivals and departures ‘projected’ onto mysterious upwellings and whirlpools to conjure the confluence of histories at Devil’s Point, the rocky promontory on the westernmost edge of Plymouth, where the swirling waters of the River Tamar pour through the narrow gap between Devon and Cornwall to meet the salty tides of Plymouth Sound, its topography producing riptides, strange turbulent waters and unique meteorological conditions.

DescriptionMaelstrom: The Return is the first in a series of films inspired by the turbulent waters of Devil’s Point, Plymouth. Mysterious upwellings and whirlpools combine with cinematic memories of long-forgotten arrivals and departures.

Production notesOur film is focused on the rocky promontory on the westernmost edge of Plymouth known as Devil’s Point. Here, the swirling waters of the River Tamar pour through the narrow gap between Devon and Cornwall to meet the salty tides of Plymouth Sound, its topography producing riptides and whirlpools, and unique meteorological conditions. These dangerous waters gave Devil’s Point its name. It is the place where Francis Drake is said to have met the witches with whom he conjured up the storm that drove the Spanish Armada away from England’s shores. Here, Captain Cook set sail on his three voyages of discovery and the naturalist Charles Darwin sailed off to the Galapagos.

We aimed to capture the confluence of the histories and lived experience of this place for the audience in moving image and sound. Our research project began with a field trip to the location, when we walked to the end of Devil's Point and recorded our conversation by the sea. We then responded to the moving image material held by the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) that features Devil’s Point, and engaged in a reflective dialogic process at the location, recording our thoughts. We shared our research conversations at the location, at SWFTA and in the edit suite as a series of podcasts, which were posted on the Centre for Moving Image Research CMIR-RWA Moving Image Art Bursary blogsite (available online from autumn 2014 until the start of 2017).Image: small whirlpools at Devil’s Point

2017Presentation of 'Framing the landscape: developing an eco-sensitive cinema', joint paper with Stuart Moore, for #Cinema is Dead: New Ways of Showing, Watching and Telling, the 3rd International Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media Conference, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Aesthetics and Poetics panel; includes a screening of the films Reach and Maelstrom (18 and 19 May 2017)

Digital Bristol Week 2016 part of the Digital Cities initiative, presented by CMIR at venues across the city: BBC Bristol, Arnolfini, MShed, Engine Shed and the Big Screen in Millennium Square, Bristol (9 to 15 May 2016)